The present invention generally relates to lifters for refuse collection containers and, more specifically, to lifters for lifting, tilting and dumping residential-style refuse containers.
Refuse container lifters have been used for many years in a wide variety of settings. They have, for example, been mounted on refuse collection trucks, both rear and side load trucks. They have been mounted on larger multi-cubic yard refuse containers and they have been used in stationary refuse loading stations. An example of one successful refuse container lifter may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,741,658 to Zelinka and Redding. That patent is owned by the Perkins Manufacturing Company, which makes and sells a variety of lifters, including its well-known TuckAway lifter. Despite the wide variety of lifters being offered for sale, there continues to be need for lifters that have improved reliability and/or function; that are suitable for variety of applications on trucks, containers or stationary refuse collection stations; and/or that may be more efficiently manufactured at reduced cost.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a lifter for lifting, tilting and dumping residential-style refuse containers that has improved reliability.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a refuse container that is adapted for use in a variety of applications, such as on trucks, containers, or stationary refuse collection stations and also does not interfere with the use of lifters for other types of containers.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a refuse container lifter that is simple in design so that it may be efficiently and economically manufactured.
These objects, and others which will become apparent upon reference to the following drawings and detailed description, are achieved by a lifter including a motor which is secured to a base, the motor having a shaft rotatable about a first axis. At least one lift arm is secured to the rotatable shaft, with at least one actuator arm pivotally mounted to the base for rotation about a second axis displaced from the axis of the rotatable shaft. A carriage is provided that has two hooks for selectively engaging the spaced-apart bars that are on the container that is to be lifted, the hooks being selectively engageable with the bars so as to secure the container to the carriage during the dumping action. The first and second hooks are connected to each other by a telescoping member, one end of the telescoping member being rigidly connected to the lift arm and the other end of the telescoping member being pivotally connected to the actuator arm. During the dumping action, the telescoping member extends, as the hooks engage the bars on the container. When the container is returned to its original position after having been dumped, the telescoping members collapse into a more compact relationship.
The carriage also comprises a first cross piece that is rigidly mounted to the lift arm on which one hook is mounted. A telescoping connecting member is rigidly secured to the lift arm and pivotally secured to the actuator arm, with a second cross piece rigidly connected to the telescoping connecting member and including a second hook for engaging the other of the bars on the container. In a preferred embodiment, the telescoping or connecting member includes an inner member and an outer member, with the outer member including an elongated slot sized so that at least a portion of the actuator arm retracts into the slot when the lifting arm is in its first, retracted position.